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Monthly Archives: February 2014

We were at the lake today and I was pondering things I want the kids to see (especially Ben while he still has time) and wishing there was a way I could give them these memories, or afford to take them to all of these places. 🙂 But I wanted to make a list because maybe that will help me find places closer to home (and more affordable) that may give them a little glimpse of what these places are like. SO, if you have ideas for similar scenes, please share them! I recognize that many of these are rather unique but if we can at least give them the visual gist of it then I would be happy… I cannot get them to Switzerland, but I bet we can find a mountain lake stateside!

In no particular order:

* The tulip fields in Holland in the spring. All those colors as far as the eye can see! And the canals and windmills and how lovely Amsterdam is.
* The lakes tucked between the mountains in the valleys of Switzerland. Those silly cows that you fully expect to roll sidewise down the steep sides as they graze! I love those cows and their massive bells.
* The white cliffs of Dover. There was just something about them.
* The Christmas markets in Germany, with the little booths and greenery and lights (and freezing cold cobblestone!) and the delicious smells in the air.
* Those gorgeous rolling hills with little sheep and stone walls across England.
* The towering pine trees in the northwest, everything seemed so green and beautiful there.
* The palm trees and sandy beaches and those soothing waves on the beach in California. I would spend hours just laying there listening to the surf (though that’s an auditory memory, not a visual one I realize.) 🙂 We’ve not been there in over a decade so I’m not sure which beach we should check out in California when we go.
* The Lincoln memorial at night. Really, most of the memorials in DC at night.
* The red rocks of southern Utah.
* The snow covered Rocky mountains, since the Alps are a bit far – and I hate cold, but I want them to see how breathtaking the mountains are covered in white.
* Standing below Nike of Samothrace. She’s my favorite there, but I also love all the naked people falling down statues in Paris because they make me laugh and think of Joanna and Debbie and my siblings on our trips to Paris.
* Watching a meteor shower from the top of a mountain, with the stars so BIG.
* Walking along the shops of Annapolis harbor eating ice cream from that yummy place whose name I cannot remember… but I loved Annapolis, with the old red brick buildings and little shops.
* Driving through the desert and suddenly seeing the lights of Las Vegas – I know, that sounds funny, but I made that drive SO many times and every time I saw those lights it made me smile. I think the kids would get a kick out of Las Vegas.
* The Berlin wall and Brandenburg gate – those really would have to be the actual sites, as there is nothing similar! They’ve been reading about Germany and life behind the wall and visiting there in 1990 had such an impact on me. (I’m named Heidi because I was born in Germany, so it felt very personal to me learning more about why Americans were stationed there.)
* The view of Heidelberg castle from the philosopher’s walk.
* The changing leaves in the fall when the forest is a rainbow – but Texas doesn’t really have that, so we need to head north.

That’s it for now…

If you could give someone a visual memory of yours which would you want to share?

Any suggestions for places closer to Texas that we could show them similar things – tulip fields? 🙂 Mountain lakes, meteor showers, happy cows? We would truly love your suggestions – share away, you can comment or email me because I love your ideas.

We’ve been absolutely blown away by the response to the kids’ fundraiser! After their story was shared in the Soma Massage Therapy newsletter we were contacted by the Denton Record Chronicle and the kids ended up on the front page of the newspaper! They had hoped to sell maybe five boxes of truffles, as they calculated that would earn them $25! Which seemed like so much to them. 🙂 After the story came out we had to restock and they spent all day making truffles and still sold out. Thank you! They’ve started a pre-order list for their St. Patrick’s Day truffles which you can join by emailing me (heidi@thadenpierce.org) In the meantime they’re going to continue selling ciabatta bread if you would like to try that!

C & M are making truffles! These are hand rolled and dipped and they are fantastic. Rather addictive, be warned. They’ll be wrapped up cute in a gift box and perfect for sharing with your valentine. (Or eating yourself, we don’t judge.) Options include:

* Chocolate cheesecake.
* Peppermint chocolate.
* Chocolate orange.

We’ll have a limited number as these require time and attention to make. You can pick up on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday (February 13th, 14th, or 15th – in case you are celebrating the day after.)

Pictures to come of their test run – I’ve been making these for years but this time the kids will be making them with my close supervision. 🙂

Packaging options:

The bottom larger box holds six truffles and is $5, the little boxes on top (they look big, but they’re really not) hold 2 truffles and are $2 (but we have a limited number of them):

These also hold two and are $2 (and we have more boxes of these):

E hard at working measuring ribbon & the kids’ first order ready for pick up:

The little buddies hard at work stuffing boxes:

Thank you again for all the support! It’s been a wonderful experience for the kids. I can be reached at heidi@thadenpierce.org if you want to place an order for next month or have questions.